Curriculum integration in policy and practice: Alignment and obstacles for teaching

Abstract In recent years, curriculum integration has been highlighted in international education policy as a response to global societal issues. Drawing on documents and teacher interviews, this study investigates how curriculum integration is conceptualized in education policy and national curriculum and how this aligns with teachers' understandings and experiences. The study focuses on the most recent national curriculum in Norway, the Knowledge Promotion Reform 2020, which introduced three integrated curriculum topics designed to permeate school practices. The theoretical framework draws on Deng's (2010) domains of curriculum reform and Drake and Burns' (2004) approaches to curriculum integration. Analysis reveals conceptual differences between policy and curriculum. Further, the teachers aim for higher degrees of integration than what is required in the national curriculum. Finally, the study finds that teachers experience several obstacles to integrated teaching, including a lack of formal structures for collaboration across subjects as well as subject‐specific goals and assessment systems.